Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Burda Update

I started sewing the BWOF pants this evening and, Hey! So far, so good!

The instructions are equally incomplete, confusing and liberating. For these little pants, incomplete and confusing aren't an issue. What's surprising is how liberating they are. I can pretty much do whatever I want, whenever I want.

For example, I am entirely free to select my preferred seam finish. Ssssh! Don't tell Charity that I didn't use my serger. I stitched the seams on my Ellegante, then used an overcast stitch and trimmed the seam allowances.

One thing I'm not really clear on is how to transition from an overcast seam allowance to a seam allowance that, for whatever reason, needs to be pressed open. The transition always looks messy to me. These little pants have a drawstring above the ruffle on each leg, so the instructions were to stitch the side seam, leaving an opening for the drawstring. This is how I finished it off inside; I'm fairly happy with this.

One thing I'm super happy with is how well I lined up the horizontal seamlines when I stitched the side seams.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the ruffles hemmed - each ruffle is 42 inches long so it looks like another outing with my narrow hem foot.

7 comments:

AllisonC said...

Hey Paula, they are coming along nicely. liberating is a very positive way to look at BWOF instructions! I usually finish those seams and press tham open all the way down (if I remember), but yours looks pretty neat!

Dawn said...

They look great so far. Liberating! That's the perfect word!

Paula Gardner said...

Thanks, ladies!

Allison, that's what I would normally do but for children's pants...it felt like too much trouble!

Bunny said...

You are moving right along! You go, Paula! I think you handled the seams nicely. This is lining up to be a very "princess-y" outfit!

Unknown said...

Hey! I leave for a minute and you're talking about me behind my back! :) Before I had a serger, I used my sewing machine's overcast or I would do a very tight zig-zag twice. Or French Seams. Or flat-felled. There are lots of options. Yours is perfectly nice.

Charity - Begrudging You A Grand-daughter at the Moment...

Paula Gardner said...

There's another bun in the oven...hoping for another girl.

Faye Lewis said...

I'm not sure if I like being liberated yet (lol). One thing is for sure if you are using these patterns...you had better know something about sewing before you start.